It has been a remarkable three years for Mongolia’s Enkhkhuslen Batbayar since her Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020. Back then the teenager was based at the nation’s only training facility – a five lane, 25m pool, in capital city Ulaanbaatar. There was no swimming school and no competition pool, however Batbayar was still excelling enough to earn a berth on the Mongolian team for the delayed 2021 summer Olympics.

After Tokyo, Batbayar received news that would change her swimming career. Accepted into the World Aquatics Scholarship Programme, she would now have the opportunity to move abroad and base herself at the World Aquatics Thanyapura Training Centre in Thailand.

The scholarship program, launched in 2014, provides financial and technical assistance to athletes with internationally recognised sporting achievements, but without favourable or sufficient conditions to train locally. World Aquatics allocates significant resources to the programme, recognising its pivotal role in nurturing the development of the World Aquatics members and their talented athletes.


Once settled in Thailand, Batbayar’s results were remarkable. The then 20 year-old set eight national short course records in a two-month racing block in 2022. She broke the Mongolian national record in the 50m Freestyle, 100m Freestyle, 200m Freestyle, 400m Freestyle, 800m Freestyle, 50m Breaststroke, 100m Breaststroke and 200m Individual Medley.

Image Source: Hiroyuki Nakamura/World Aquatics

In 2023 the records continued to tumble. Batbayar broke the Mongolian national long course records in the 50m Freestyle, 100m Freestyle, 200m Freestyle, 400m Freestyle, 800m Freestyle, 100m Breaststroke, 100m Butterfly and 200m Individual Medley. These records added to her list of existing national long course records held in the 50m Backstroke, 100m Backstroke, 50m Butterfly and 200m Butterfly. She also made appearances at Budapest 2022, Melbourne 2022, Fukuoka 2023 and then Doha 2024 at the start of this year.Speaking to World Aquatics back in Fukuoka last year, Batbayar credited her streak of outstanding results to the World Aquatics Thanyapura Training Centre and Scholarship Programme.

“My teammates from Phuket are my family and they support me and everyone on the team,” said Batbayar.

“Our competition times are so close and we push each other in training so we are all improving. I really want to achieve the ‘B’ standard in the 200m Freestyle at the Paris Olympics.”

Fast-forward to this month and Batbayar is at her second Olympic Games having just delivered a career-best 1:59.94 in the Women’s 200m Freestyle on day two of racing at Paris La Defense Arena. The swim was Batbayar’s final race as a World Aquatics Scholarship Athlete having recently been accepted on scholarship for the University of Nevada’s swimming & diving program.

“The University of Nevada contacted me after the Asian Games and offered me a scholarship,” Batbayar told World Aquatics after Sunday’s heat swim in Paris.

“They saw my results and they accepted me and I'm so excited. Moving to the United States is going to be a big challenge for me. Far from my home and family, but I'm excited to learn new things and get some experience.”

Batbayar’s journey over the past three years embodies the core aim of the World Aquatics Scholarship Programme –giving athletes from developing countries lifechanging opportunities that lead to an elite career in the sport.

“I wouldn’t be where I am now without that World Aquatics scholarship,” said Batbayar.

“So thankyou World Aquatics for continuing to support developing countries and swimmers.”